The use of intravascular catheters has become an effective method for treating many types of vascular disease. In general, an intravascular catheter is inserted into the vascular system of a patient and navigated through the vasculature to a desired target site. Using this method, virtually any target site in a patient's vascular system may be accessed, including the coronary, cerebral, and peripheral vasculature. Examples of therapeutic purposes for intravascular catheters include percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).
The catheter may enter the patient's vasculature at a convenient location, and then be urged to a target region over a guidewire. Frequently, the path taken by a catheter through the vascular system is tortuous, requiring the guidewire to change direction frequently. Moreover, the catheter may confront a stenosis or a total occlusion when passing through the vasculature.
The success of the intravascular procedure often depends on the ability of the catheter to pass the stenosis. A clinician may need to apply significant force to the catheter in order to urge it through the stenosis. If the catheter is an angioplasty catheter, the act of attempting to pass the catheter through the stenosis may cause significant damage to the catheter, and may even make it inoperable. A need, therefore, exists for an angioplasty catheter with increased structural support.